I Took A Trip To A BYD Dealership To See The Chinese Automaker Tesla Fears Most

BYD is a giant Chinese NEV maker based in the southern Chinese megacity of Shenzhen. NEV stands for New Energy Vehicle, a Chinese category that includes EVs, PHEVs, and FCEVs. BYD owns several brands: BYD, Denza, Fangcheng Bao, and Yangwang.

The BYD brand is mass-market, offering everything from cheap electric econoboxes to extremely powerful tri-motor PHEVs. Tesla is seriously afraid of BYD. Tesla reportedly canceled the $25K car, partially because it knows it can’t compete with BYD on price. For a short while, BYD was the largest EV maker (counting only the EVs and not the PHEVs) in the world, but Tesla took that position back again, for now.

At the same time, BYD supplies LFP batteries for the Tesla Model Y. Keep your enemies close..? In Beijing, I visited a typical BYD dealer in mystery-shopper style. This article is about the cars I saw at the dealer and on the road.

A Short History of BYD Auto

BYD was founded in 1995 as a battery maker for mobile phones and other electronics. That was a widely successful business and in the early 2000s, BYD decided to move into cars. At the time, the Chinese car market was slowly starting to grow.

As a shortcut, BYD bought a company called Qinchuan Auto, which made a Suzuki Alto-based minicar called the Qinchuan Flyer. You can read all about the Flyer here. BYD renamed Qinchuan Auto to BYD Auto, and the Qinchuan Flyer became the BYD Flyer, which was BYD’s first car. It was available with 0.9 and 1.1-liter gasoline engines and it cost next to nothing.

BYD ET Concept

At that time there were no EVs in China, except for a few demonstration projects. But BYD was already thinking ahead. In 2004, BYD unveiled the ET, a concept for a mass-market electric car. See this article for more about this interesting vehicle.

BYD F3

In the meantime, BYD quickly expanded its lineup with cheap gasoline-powered cars with a design heavily inspired by Toyota. The BYD F3 sedan was the first best-seller for BYD, competing with cars like the FAW-Volkswagen Jetta, the FAW-Toyota Corolla EX (haha), and the Dongfeng-PSA Citroen Fukang.

The BYD F3 spawned the F3 DM (Dual Motor), China’s first mass-market PHEV. BYD never did HEVs, they went straight from ICE to PHEV.

BYD F6

In the late 2000s, BYD moved slightly upmarket with the F6, a larger sedan with a design heavily inspired by the Honda Accord.

Hello Warren and Bill

BYD got a big boost in 2008 when Warren Buffet invested in the company, buying 9.9% of outstanding shares for $232 million. Two years later, Buffet himself traveled to Shenzhen, accompanied by Charlie Munger and his buddy Bill Gates. This infamous photo shows the gentlemen during that visit, with BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu. They stand around a BYD M6 MPV, which was a complete clone of the first-generation Toyota Previa.

BYD Tang

The BYD Tang was the coolest BYD SUV of the 2010s. It looked very racy and it was insanely powerful for the time: a PHEV with a 2.0 turbo and two electric motors. The combined output was 505hp and 820nm. It did 0-100 in 4.9 seconds! For a while, it was one of the most powerful SUVs in the world, but outside of China, almost nobody knew about it.

BYD e6

The first full-electric BYD was the 2009 e6, an MPV-like vehicle aimed at the taxi market. Later on, it became available in the passenger car market as well. It was very successful and production of the first generation continued until 2020. When you travel to southern China, there is a big chance your taxi will be an e6. I have been in dozens of them, and they were surprisingly quick in city traffic. Drivers were quite happy with the e6, and many told me the real-world range was 400 kilometers. Claimed range? 400 kilometers (250 miles)!

BYD Qin EV

In the 2010s BYD started to poop out ever more similar sedans, with ICE, PHEV, and EV power. This white beauty is a BYD Qin EV, launched in 2016 with a 218 hp electric motor and a 190-mile range.

BYD e1

This is a BYD e1, BYD’s first take on a cheap mass-market electric city car. It was based on the platform of the gasoline-powered BYD F0, which was a clone of the Toyota Aygo, Fuzzily, production of the F0 ended in 2015, but the e1 only arrived in 2020. Like I have said and written many times before: Chinese cars never really die and Chinese car makers throw away absolutely nothing. Fast forward to:

BYD Today: So Many BYDs

The naming of Chinese companies is always a tad confusing. Today, the group is called BYD Company. The most important businesses are:

1. BYD Auto, which is the car business. It includes the brands: BYD (cars, trucks, buses), Denza, Fangcheng Bao, and Yangwang.
2. BYD Electronics, the original battery and electronics business.
3. BYD Semiconductors, a chip-design business.
4. BYD Forklift, makes electric forklifts.
5. BYD FinDreams, supplies electric motors and batteries to other car makers, including Tesla.

In 2023, BYD Company had a revenue of 602.3 billion yuan ($84.70 billion) and earnings of $5.6 billion. At this moment, BYD Company has a market cap of $87 billion. In 2023, BYD sold 3,024,417 vehicles, including passenger cars and commercial vehicles.  

BYD has adopted the backronym “Build Your Dreams” to explain the name, which is actually derived from a street where the company was founded.

The BYD (brand) Lineup Is Amazingly Complex And Crazy

BYD needs a lot of cars to get there. In the past, all Chinese brands and joint venture brands had this particular habit of launching new cars while keeping the old ones around as well. This led to complicated lineups with multiple generations of cars sold alongside each other. See my earlier articles about Hyundai and about Buick. Most Chinese brands have since stopped this madness. They are finally able to cancel a car! But not BYD. Not at all. BYD launches a new car almost every two weeks. No exaggeration. And they keep the old ones, too. These older cars are usually updated, renamed, updated again, and fitted with new power trains, like the BYD e1 above. But they don’t die.

At this moment, BYD has the craziest lineup of any Chinese car brand, with many cars similar in size, power, and price. As of today (18/05/2024), BYD sells 21 car models, with another 4 set to launch soon. No dealer building is large enough to display so many cars, so most dealers only show the newest or best-selling models. BYD is aware of this and is launching larger experience centers where they show all cars of all their brands, but I haven’t seen such a center in Beijing. 

BYD sells its cars in two main series: Dynasty and Ocean. The former is focused on luxury, the latter is a bit sportier. The Ocean Series has two sub-series: animals and warships. Earlier, there were rumors about a separate Warship Series, but that didn’t happen. Later, it was reported that the animals would be the EVs and the warships the PHEVs, that was true in the beginning, but not anymore. So right now, it seems random which cars get which sub-series name. Besides these, BYD also sells a few cars that are not in these two series. 

To understand the madness, I have created a table. I decided to order the table by sales % in March 2024. In that month, BYD was the top-selling car brand in China with 244.823 cars sold. 

Notes:

1. BYD is a cheap brand. The cheapest model costs just under $10K and the most expensive model is only $37K. For comparison: the China-made Tesla Model 3 costs $32K – $46.5K and the Tesla Model Y costs $34.6K – $49K.
2. There is a wide price range for many models. The battery type mainly causes this. BYD is a battery maker, after all, so it likes to offer up to 5 different batteries for each model.
3. The D1 and e9 models are developed for the taxi/ride-hailing market. Individuals can buy one, but almost nobody does.
4. BYD regularly lowers its prices, sometimes by 10-15% in one go, so this table may be outdated the moment you see it ):

At the dealer

And in I went. It was again a hot summer day with temperatures up to 37°C (98,6°F). Happily, the aircon was set to freeze so I cooled down quickly. The building looked new and clean with proper lighting. I was greeted by five folks sitting behind a desk, checking phones and computers. The girl on the left nodded and they let me be. The desk was dressed in an Ocean theme, with blue waves and a splashy dolphin. I felt right at home.

On the left the Song Plus DM-i. In BYD-speak, “DM-i” refers to a PHEV. It stands for Dual Mode-intelligent. This is the most common BYD PHEV powertrain. They also got DM-p, Dual Mode-powerful, for the most powerful PHEVs. And then there is DM-o, for Dual Motor-off road, that powertrain is mainly used in the Fangcheng Bao-branded vehicles.

Behind the two cars was a giant projector screen, with the computer’s taskbar visible. Messy! The ‘818’ advertisement refers to a “Super 818 Festival Season,” where dealers gave away car gifts, cash gifts, after-sales service gifts, and financial gifts. Chinese car brands organize this kind of fun all the time, so at any given moment car buyers can get free accessories, gifts (food, drinks, Red Bull, toys, furniture, tents, fruit), cash-backs, free service, or discounts and extra low down payments.

BYD’s Super 818 Carnival Season is part of the wider annual 818 Fever Shopping Festival, which starts on August 18 (8/18). This consumer festival is celebrated all over China, for any kind of product. During the festival, consumers can watch live shows on TV with lots of dancing and singing and discounts, like this brilliant 2-hour and 16-minute show by Zhejiang Satellite TV (with Lincoln at 1:01:00).

BYD Seagull

The BYD Seagull is a small electric hatchback. When launched, it caused a big stir in China and abroad, as it was seen as a revolutionary electric vehicle: lots of power and space for a low price. In export markets, it is called the Dolphin Mini.

There is export to Southeast Asia, and it will also be sold in Europe. The Seagull is an attractive car, with a single windshield wiper, large mirrors, and tiny 16-inch tires. The car in the photo is painted in Sprout Green. Power: single-motor FWD. Output is 55 kW and 135 Nm. The top speed is 130 km/h (80 mph). BYD claims 0-50 in 4.9 seconds. Chinese car makers often quote 0-50 times for smaller cars, instead of 0-100.  Electricity is stored in a BYD Blade LFP battery: 30.08 kWh for 190 miles of range or 38.88 kWh for 251 miles.

BYD Song Plus DM-i

The Song Plus comes as an EV or as a PHEV. The car in the photo has DM-i on the plate, so it is the PHEV version. The EV has a slightly different front. The headlights look interesting. The Song Plus is a front-wheel drive car. Most affordable BYDs have front-wheel drive, both PHEVs and EVs. That differs from most other Chinese car makers, who usually go for RWD with their EV models. The power train combines a 1.5-liter ICE with a single electric motor and an E-CVT gearbox. The combined output is 135 kW and 325 Nm, good for 170 km/h and 0-100 in 8,2 seconds. BYD offers 3 LFP battery sizes: 12.9 kWh for 44 miles of EV-only range, 110 kWh for 68 miles, and 26.6 kWh for 93 miles. It has a 60-liter fuel tank. Unlike most other Chinese car makers, BYD doesn’t specify the PHEV range.

The chief automotive designer of BYD is Wolfgang Egger, a German fellow who previously worked for Alfa Romeo, Seat, Lancia, Audi, and Lamborghini. Egger came to BYD in 2017, he was hired to create a design identity for BYD. Since 2022, he is also responsible for the new Fangcheng Bao brand.

Normally, his role is to oversee the general design direction, but sometimes he is allowed to go wild and pen a car all by himself. Many Chinese car makers employ famous European and American designers. I know from friends-of-friends who work at car companies in China that the arrival of a hot foreign designer often leads to friction with the Chinese design team. This, in turn, leads to confusing design decisions and directions, the opposite of what was intended. I cannot name a single legacy Chinese brand where it worked well. It is different with the new EV companies, which aren’t hindered by the past. Good examples are Benjamin Baum at Li Auto and Kris Tomasson at NIO, who have created recognizable design languages.

BYD Destroyer 05

The Destroyer o5 is a compact sedan. I like the front design, with darkened headlights that are seamlessly connected by the grille, with the BYD logo in the middle. Below the grille are 5 horizontal bars. The Destroyer 05 is a PHEV-only car. The power train is similar to the Song Plus: FWD, 1.5 ICE, and a single electric motor, mated to an E-CVT. Output is 123 kW and 316 Nm, and that is enough for 115 mph and  0-100 in 7.3 seconds. The base model is super cheap and there is a reason for that, it only has a tiny 11.4 kWh battery for an EV range of just 34 miles. The other models have a 14.5 kWh battery pack, and that pushes the range up to 74 miles.

Ah, some atmosphere! With four modernist-abstract-IA paintings, neatly in a row. I liked the red one best. The plants were fake.

The toilets are on the left, I checked them out, all perfectly clean and comfortable. The blue seats were comfy too. On the right, I could see potential customers talking and doing things with their mobile phones.  A BYD salesman, seen from the back, was patiently waiting.

Checking out the other side. There was a mega-screen on the wall again, and this one was displaying without a taskbar. The scenes on screen were a bit boring though, showing an ocean with a bunch of weirdly shaped clouds. I would show something more exciting on such a large screen! But then again, the cars are probably exciting enough, aren’t they? From left to right the Dolphin, the Seal, and the Destroyer 07.

BYD Dolphin

The Dolphin is a compact electric hatchback. The Chinese car market digs hatchbacks, but only when they are small and cheap. There isn’t a large market for larger hatchbacks, as consumers would just get an SUV or a sedan. The Dolphin launched in 2021 and hasn’t been updated since, which is highly unusual. The design isn’t in line with the other Ocean cars, so a facelift is long overdue, but I haven’t seen any spy shots yet. The Dolphin is a front-wheel drive car, based on BYD’s e-Platform 3.0. The single motor has an output of 70 kW and 180 Nm. The top speed is 93 mph and 0-50 takes 3.9 seconds. BYD offers two LFP battery packs: 32.35 kWh for 187 miles and 44.9 kWh for 250 miles.

The Dolphin is 1:18, a nice addition perhaps for my collection.

BYD e-Platform 3.0

All modern full-electric BYDs are based on the e-Platform 3.0. It is highly flexible and able to accommodate cars with a wheelbase from 2500 to 3000 millimeters. It is available in FWD and AWD forms. It features Cell to Body (CTB) technology, where the battery pack is integrated into the floor of the chassis. BYD builds everything in-house, the electric motors, controllers, and of course the batteries.

BYD Blade battery

There has been a lot of ado about BYD’s Blade LFP battery. It is used in all modern BYD EVs and PHEVs, and it’s sold to various other car makers like Kia,  Tesla, Toyota, and Xiaomi. The Blade name refers to the structure: the cells are built in the pack as long, thin ‘Blades,’ becoming part of the pack’s structure. BYD claims the Blade battery is stronger, safer, more efficient, and longer-lasting than a conventional one.

BYD Destroyer 07

This is my favorite new BYD. It has a great name: Destroyer 07. And it looks badass indeed, with menacing headlights, a giant grille with gray slats, a high hood, and wide fenders. OT is nearly five meters long but it only seats five. BYD doesn’t sell a 5- or 7-seat version, which is a bit odd, as most competitors do.

The Destroyer 07 is one of the few current BYD PHEVs available with AWD. The base DM-i models are FWD again, combining a 1.5 turbo with a single electric motor. Output is 145 kW and 316 Nm. The top speed is 112 mph and 0-100 takes 8.5 seconds. BYD offers two Blade battery packs: 18.3 kWh for a 62-mile range and 36.8 kWh for 127 miles. The AWD is properly badass: 1.5 turbo plus two electric motors, combined output is 295 kW and 656 Nm. The top speed is 112 mph and 0-100 takes 4.7 seconds. It uses the same 36.8 kWh battery, and the EV range is 93 miles.

There is enough space for another car here, easily. Instead, the corner was filled with another table, which seemed tiny under the towering screen.

On the table stood a box of BYD Ocean tissues. I didn’t see any BYD Dynasty tissue boxes, but I am sure they have those, too.

The mini-bar with coffee, tea, and iced tea. I tried the latter, it tasted good, ice cold and super sweet, perfect for a hot day.

BYD Seal

The Seal is probably the most famous current BYD. It is a great-looking sedan, streamlined and sporty, with cool design details like the illuminated lines in the black holes in the bumper. The car on display is an AWD model painted in Atlantis Gray. The front design is called Ocean X Face. The BYD Seal is exported to various Southeast Asian and European markets. There, it is known as a “Tesla Model 3 killer.” But in China, the Seal doesn’t sell very well. In March, BYD sold 5,618 Seals and Tesla sold 14,481 Model 3s.

BYD is known for putting the 0-100 km (0-62 mph) times on the back of their cars. BYD did that a lot in the 2010s, but recently they don’t do it very often anymore. But the Seal still got it! 3.8 seconds it is and everybody must know about it. Characters: 海豹, Haibào, Seal. BYD offers many different power train options: single motor RWD: 150kW/310nm, 170kW/330Nm, and 230kW/360Nm. But the quickest swimming Seal is the dual motor AWD model, with 390kW and 670Nm. The top speed is limited to 112 mph and 0-100 takes, well, look at the badge! The AWD has an 82.2 kWh LFP battery for a 404-mile range.

The Seal in 1:18, in the same color!

What, no lidar? Eye of God

Most Chinese car makers fit lidar on their vehicles to support the ADAS. These lidars are fitted above the windshield or in the bumper. BYD, however, doesn’t do lidar. In fact, BYD doesn’t do much ADAS at all, it is a weak point in the brand’s technology armor. The sensor suite of any BYD is less impressive than the competition’s. Let’s take the Seal as an example. The ADAS system is called DiPilot 100, with the brilliant official nickname Eye of God (天神之眼). It has 6 cameras, 1 driver-focused camera, 6 ultrasonic radars, and 3 millimeter wave radars. Let’s compare that with the Zeekr 007, one of the Seal’s main competitors. It has one lidar, 12 cameras, 1 driver-focused camera, 12 ultrasonic radars, and 9 millimeter-wave radars. BYD is aware of this and rarely mentions ADAS in its PR.  

BYD e2

The BYD e2 is an interesting oddity. It is not a part of the Ocean or Dynasty series, but it also isn’t a specialized taxi model like the D1 or the e9. The e2 is an older EV that has been updated with modern looks. It was launched in 2019 and it is not based on e-Platform 3.0. There is a sedan too, called the BYD e3. Sales are very slow so one may wonder why BYD keeps it around. Well, that is because BYD keeps ALL its cars around, forever.

BYD recently lowered the price of the base model by almost 40%, so sales of the e2 are up recently. Strangely, they didn’t do the same with the e3, so sales of the sedan are not up. The e2 is a single-motor front-wheel drive machine. Output is 70 kW and 180 Nm, good for a road-shattering top speed of 81 mph and a 0-50 of 4.9 seconds. The 43.2 kWh LFP battery is relatively large for a vehicle of this size, but it is an older battery pack, not a Blade. The range is 405 miles. I have never seen one of these on the road, it seems rarer than a Ferrari.

Stuff

BYD caps for 50 yuan (About $7). On the left is the Dynasty cap, and on the right is the Ocean cap. The BYD logo is quite small, so what’s the point?

Couples can ride into the sunshine, a pink one for the missus and a chrome one for the hubby. Complete with a BYD-branded case.

This one is a bit like the Great Chinese Kitch of the 2000s! It is an aroma diffuser for the Ocean Series, with two shiny dolphins on top.

A flashy bag, again with a small BYD logo. The bag is made of plastic with a shiny layer on top. The front pattern looks like fish scales, so I guess this one is for the Ocean Series.

Time To Go

It was time to leave. I had been inside for about 45 minutes, checked out all the cars, and had some tea. It was a nice place to be. The staff didn’t bother me if I didn’t ask anything, and that’s just the way I like it. At NIO, for example, I was constantly followed by a minder.

Random On The Road

The majority of the cars that BYD sells were not at the dealer, but I found some on the road.

BYD Han

The BYD Han is a full-size sedan in EV or PHEV form. The red beauty that I saw is the RWD EV version, with 168 kW and 350 Nm. The most common battery is a 72 kWh unit with a range of 605 kilometers. BYD also sells a dual-motor AWD variant, with 380 kW and 700 Nm.

BYD D1

The BYD D1 MPV is an interesting car. It was jointly developed with DiDi, China’s largest ride-hailing company. It has a basic interior and a large sliding door for easy access and exit. Initially, it was sold exclusively to taxi companies that operate under the DiDi umbrella. However, private buyers can buy one too now. It makes sense as a no-nonsense family car, but sales are slow. Power: FWD, 100 kW and 180 Nm. Electricity is stored in a 53.6 kWh Blade LFP for a range of 260 miles.

BYD Qin Plus EV

The Qin Plus EV is BYD’s best-selling sedan in China, so it was weird that it wasn’t at the dealer. Probably sold out. In China, you can buy any car in the showroom, at any time. The Qin Plus is not particularly pretty, it looks kind of boring, but many Chinese car buyers are just fine with boring. The Qin Plus EV is a FWD car with a single electric motor, 100 kW, and 180 Nm. It has a Blade battery of 48 kWh for 260 miles or 57.7 kWh for 317 miles.

BYD Song Plus DM-i (2021)

This is the Dong Plus DM-i, not a current car but the 2021-2023 variant. I added it for the pink wrap, which is a rare wrap color on a BYD.

Is Tesla right to be afraid?

Yes, and not really. Yes, because what BYD has achieved in such a short time is incredible. BYD can launch new models at a supersonic pace, and each model is a little bit better than the previous one. BYD cars are affordable, well-built, and well-liked. BYD runs an extensive dealer network all over the country, so consumers can buy one everywhere. Maintenance is affordable and running costs are low. BYD is in the middle of a massive export push, conquering markets all over the planet with cars that are way cheaper than what Tesla has on offer.

On the not-really side, most BYD cars don’t directly compete with Tesla on price, as they are generally much cheaper than what Tesla offers. This is different for BYD’s other brands, especially Denza, but that’s a different story. Also: BYD sells so many cars they massively cannibalize each other, BYD is behind with ADAS, earnings per vehicle are still much lower than at Tesla, and BYD Company is busy launching many other brands, which will undoubtedly distract the company from focusing on its core BYD brand.

This is a problem that we have seen with so many Chinese car makers: as soon as they have a brand that sells well, they don’t put extra focus on that brand. Instead, they launch another brand. Imagine that Tesla would have launched a second brand in 2015, another one in 2020, and another one next year. Investors would have gone mad! But in China that’s okay, it is just how things roll over there.

To America?

Not now. The US has slapped a 27.5% import tariff on Chinese cars, and the Biden administration has announced it’s raising it to 100%. With tariffs like that, not a single Chinese car maker will export cars to the US. But BYD is coming close to the US border anyway. It sells cars in many countries in Latin America, including Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

It has a factory in Brazil and wants to build another one in Mexico, to supply the local market and as a possible loophole for exports to the US. Earlier this month, BYD Mexico announced a new PHEV pickup truck, the Shark, which will launch in Mexico first, to compete directly with mid-size pickup trucks by American brands. So yes, tariffs will keep the Chinese away from the US. But in the rest of the world, competition is heating up.